Are day trips to Florence or Rome worth the time and money

[Sjcb521]

I am taking my first cruise in September on the new Symphony of the Seas leaving out of Barcelona. It includes stops for for Florence and Rome, but looking at excursion it seems we would spend more time getting there than actually being there. How much can you actually see in a few hours in such iconic places? Are there closer alternatives worth seeing?

[retird]

We did the Royal Caribbean tour to Rome for the day and found it very worthwhile.

[Sjcb521]

Thank you. Makes me feel better. It just seems like it is so far without much time in the city.

[KiwiGal117]

Florence is quite far from La Spezia. When we were there on Harmony in 2016 we did a tour of Cinque Terre. Well worth it!

 

 

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[mek]

We have done these ports multiple times - personally I wouldn't miss Rome or Florence if this is your first time. Yes, the tours are highlights, but that is much better than not seeing them at all.

 

What shorter excursions are offered on your trip? Instead of Florence, we have also gone to Pisa and Lucca on 1/2 day tours and once we went to a winery with lunch, which was very nice, but we have always gone back to Rome and each time we see something different. Our last time in Rome I didn't throw a coin in the Trevi fountain, so I guess I'm not going back. LOL.

[Clarea]

If you have never been to Florence or Rome, I could not imagine skipping those places, not matter how short the visit.

[blackshirt]

We did private tours in both places and both were great. The Florence excursion was especially good because it was a small group and the driver was able to drop off and pick up in much better locations than where the buses went.

[Langley Cruisers]

We went in summer and chose ship excursions in all our ports (just our personal preference). All were well worth it. Florence/Pisa was phenomenal. Many people think the Leaning Tower of Pisa is silly and a tourist trap but it's one of the coolest things I've ever seen in my life. We passed fields and fields of sunflowers - magnificent. Ate delicious pasta on our excursions which included lunch. Yum.

 

Excited for you! Enjoy. :D

[crzndeb]

Oh gosh..I can’t even imagine skipping. Go to your Roll Call and find private excursions. Even seeing a little is better than nothing. These places are absolutely awe inspiring and not to be missed. In fact, do ship excursions if you can’t find private.

 

Sistine Chapel, Pieta, and Statue of David, all by Michelangelo, still brings tears to my eyes, (ok, I might be emotional), but these places are truly iconic.

[Ashland]

Please don't skip these ports.

 

We used in Rome a private tour company Rome In Limo. They picked us (just the two of us) up at the port and we had the most amazing tour with them we added their option of the Vatican also.

 

Florence/Pisa we opted to do RCI's offered DIY...just enough time in Pisa and then approx 4 hours in Florence. We had an amazing guide onboard our shuttle bus that gave us so much information as we drove and then once in Florence we were walked to a meeting place (can't remember the name maybe Santa Croce?) given walking maps and showed where to meet up at a certain time and the near by shop we could use their restroom...just an amazing day !!!

[griffy116]

I cannot imagine skipping either of these great places. We hired a private driver (there were 5 of us) for both days. They picked us up at the port, hustled to get us there quickly and helped us what we wanted to see and do to maximize the time. Because there were five of us, it was as economical as an RC tour. Try getting another couple to go with you to cut the costs, but whatever you do, don't miss seeing the highlights of them both. I know we used Bob's Limo in Rome and I think we also used them in Florence. Very good rates and worth every cent.

[Cassicruiser]

We didn't book tours in these ports, we got off the ship as soon as we docked, took the shuttlebus to the station in Civitavecchia/Livorno and and caught the train into Rome/ Florence. It was super easy, but you need to check the train times beforehand and leave yourself plenty of time to get back. We had around 5-6 hours in each city.

Many people did this, but it depends how at ease you feel doing things on your own.

[silentbob007]

I've used RomeinLimo several times and they have always been wonderful. I like their tour-sharing option where they will take care of putting parties together to fill a van.

 

With that being said, Rome is very easy to get to via train from the cruise port (I have info in my Serenade of the Seas review in my sig). You can buy a travel card that covers regional trains as well as busses and the metro in Rome (BIRG ticket) for less than 15 euro/pp. Your homework would be to plan your Rome stops and make sure you know what time/numbers for trains to come back to the ship as that part is a little less clear (the main Rome train station is HUGE and it can take 15 minutes to walk to assigned tracks once you are inside the terminal).

[mondas42]

We did ‘Rome on your own’ a few years ago on Brilliance. We managed to see the Colosseum (pre book your tickets to avoid the long lines), the Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon, and a meander around the river. Didn’t see the inside of the Vatican as it was the last Sunday in the month and then the vaitican museums are free so the lines were horrendous. We did look around outside though. As to Florence and Pisa we made the mistake of just doing Pisa. We caught the train ourselves. The leaning Tower is great but once you’ve seen it that’s kinda it for Pisa, we are doing Florence this year though.

[kalliekae]

Another vote for "Rome in Limo". A private tour of Rome and Florence beats the ship's bus excursion any day.

[topnole]

Florence and Rome have so much to see. I wouldn’t miss them if I’d never been but you will likely wish you had much more time (days more). I would just make sure not to do a big bus tour as those will be the slowest and time will be sucked up waiting on the big group.

 

If you could only do one thing I would say the colloseum tour which includes Palestine hill and the forum. Great views, stunning history. Just breathtaking stuff. Many other great things but this is a must see imo.

 

In Florence the city center is relatively small and is fun to walk and explore. Maybe hit that area, enjoy a nice wine with lunch at an outdoor cafe, and a gelato afterwards. There are many outdoor sights and the cathedral is worth seeing.

 

In both cities beware of pickpockets. They are plentiful and highly skilled teams of people.

[grapau27]

I am taking my first cruise in September on the new Symphony of the Seas leaving out of Barcelona. It includes stops for for Florence and Rome, but looking at excursion it seems we would spend more time getting there than actually being there. How much can you actually see in a few hours in such iconic places? Are there closer alternatives worth seeing?

Definitely do Rome on your first cruise as Civitevechia port is very limited.

Florence or/and Pisa is definitely worth seeing on your first cruise although nowhere near as good as Rome.

La Spezia port is nice and there is a good shopping street within 10 minutes walking distance along the promenade when you then cross the road and walk through a small park to the start of the best shopping street.

[grapau27]

If you have never been to Florence or Rome, I could not imagine skipping those places, not matter how short the visit.

Absolutely totally agree with this.

[grapau27]

Oh gosh..I can’t even imagine skipping. Go to your Roll Call and find private excursions. Even seeing a little is better than nothing. These places are absolutely awe inspiring and not to be missed. In fact, do ship excursions if you can’t find private.

 

Sistine Chapel, Pieta, and Statue of David, all by Michelangelo, still brings tears to my eyes, (ok, I might be emotional), but these places are truly iconic.

And add the Ponte Vechia bridge too, Fantastic.

[spunks]

go!....It is not at all like Le Harve where you can find wonderful places closer than Paris. Especially Rome...It is beyond easy and cheap to get on the train and enjoy a wonderful ride to Rome and get off very near St Peters...no guides or tours needed. Florence from livorno is better with a tour.....but there are many wonderful tours available that dont come from the cruise ship.

 

Doug

[cjmx]

We took the shuttle then the train to Rome. Very easy to do and wonderful way to travel! Used a credit card to buy the train tickets at the small kiosks stands. Very reasonably priced

 

 

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[Turtles06]

Everything's been said, but not everyone has said it. :D So let me add my voice to those saying you should definitely not skip Rome, which is one of the world's most magnificent cities. As others have said, there are terrific private tour operators (six of us on our Roll Call used and loved Romeinlimo.com some years ago); you can find recommendations for reliable tour operators over on the Ports of Call/Europe/Italy board, which I would highly recommend you spend some time on anyway. You can use your Roll Call to put a small group together to share a tour, or hook up with others who already have one organized.

 

As for Florence, which is also magnificent, is your port call in Livorno or La Spezia? The latter is a bit further from Florence than is Livorno, prompting some folks on the Italy board to say that La Spezia is not a great jumping off point for Florence, and that it would be better to visit Cinque Terre. We haven't been to Cinque Terre or traveled from La Spezia to Florence, so I can't comment on either of those, but we have visited Florence from Livorno, and it was time well spent. Again, we used a private tour operator, got out before the big tour buses, had a short visit to Pisa (I agree with the poster above who said the Tower is enchanting), and then had a wonderful afternoon in Florence. Yes, it was a whirlwind (and I'd been there before), but how great to see The David, the Duomo, walk across the Arno on the Ponte Vecchio...

 

 

(photo by turtles06)

[kirian]

In 2013, my cruise out of Barcelona docked in La Spezia. Here, my mom and I walked through town and caught the train to Cinque Terra. We visited 2 of the 5 towns and had a lovely lunch at one. On our return via the short train ride, we still had time to stroll through La Spezia and stop in some shops as we walked back to the ship from the train station. You could consider this option (Cinque Terra) if you don't want to spend quite so much time making the journey to Florence (although I'm sure Florence is worth the travel time)

 

On the same cruise, when we docked at Civitavecchia, we walked to the train station and took the train approx 1 hr into Rome. When we exited the train, we walked a short distance to the Metro station and took that to the Coliseum. To save time, I had purchased tickets ahead of time for the underground tour of the Coliseum. We arrived before our scheduled tour time, so we walked across the street to the Forum and spent over an hour there (probably closer to 2 hrs). Truth be told, we actually ending up enjoying the Forum more than the Coliseum (don't get me wrong, the Coliseum is amazing....we were just so surprised by all there was to see in the Forum). For our time in the Forum, I had previously downloaded Rick Steves free walking tour and it was excellent.

 

By no means am I some super world traveler who speaks Italian and is an expert at navigating public transportation (I have no clue how to catch a bus in my own town....lol). But with a little research and planning, I was able to figure things out just fine to make the most of my time in these two cities without going on a formal tour (which I have no problem with and did in other places). Depending on how much time you have at each stop, I would suggest you definitely consider venturing to Florence or Cinque Terra, as well as Rome... either on your own or as part of a tour group (whatever you are most comfortable with). By no means will you get to see everything those cities have to offer, but you can at least get a feel for a couple of the highlights that might just make you want to visit again for a longer period of time in the future.

 

Best of luck with whatever you decide to do!!!!

 

Melissa

 

PS - there are many more details of exactly what we did in these two stops in the review found in my signature

[Cassicruiser]

Just reiterating to be very careful of pickpockets in Rome and Florence. I am very travel savvy and I was NOT going to be pickpocketed and was ultra careful the whole time and kept reminding my travel companions to be vigilant. I was the one who got pickpocketed! In Florence Santa Novella station I took my phone out of my jacket pocket and took a photo and then put it back into my pocket and zipped it up tight. They were watching. They got me while I was distracted looking up at the board to find our train platform I got on the train to discover it was gone and I didn't see or feel a thing.

[Ned11]

I go with cruiseexcursions.com. Never had any issues and prices are very reasonable. Will be using them again in 5 weeks.

 

 

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